Labour MP Liam Byrne begins his unexpectedly peppy new book, The Inequality of Wealth, with a brief tour of the world of the super-rich. In Sussex, he visits Rolls-Royce, where a luxury car may be customised according to any whim, its interior made to look as the night sky did on the day its owner proposed to their partner, its paintwork matched to the same shade of green as an Amazonian tree frog. In Cornwall, he calls in at Pendennis shipyard, one of Britain’s biggest builders of superyachts, where he learns that some vessels come with radar systems so advanced, Royal Navy captains “would probably cry with jealousy”. He also talks to writer James Crabtree, an expert on India’s mega-wealthy, who tells him of the £1bn Mumbai home of Mukesh Ambani, currently the richest person in Asia. The 27-storey building boasts a snow room as well as the usual spa, cinema, indoor pools and parking garage. Bigger and better than any hotel, there’s no reason ever to leave.
All this is a far cry from the leaky, crumbling Palace of Westminster, even if Byrne does have one of the better offices in Portcullis House – an eyrie with windows on two sides, it amply accommodates the three (or is it four?) staff who listen in on our conversation – and at moments, he does sound a touch credulous, quoting Tatler with no less gusto than he does the leftist French economist Thomas Piketty. But don’t be fooled. Far from being impressed, he’s really rather disgusted.
